Chemical Products Industries Bulk Commodity Intelligence (July 24, 2026)

1. [MLF] The People's Bank of China will conduct a Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) operation worth 500 billion RMB on July 24. Wind data shows that 400 billion RMB in MLF loans are maturing in July; this implies a net increase of 100 billion RMB in the rollover, marking the third consecutive month of increased-volume rollovers.

2. [US Tariffs] The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued an announcement on the 23rd stating that, pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, it would impose additional tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods from dozens of countries and regions—citing alleged "forced labor"—to replace expiring global import tariffs. The new tariffs are set to take effect on the 24th (Eastern Time).

3. [ECB Interest Rates] On Thursday (regional time), the European Central Bank (ECB) announced it would keep interest rates unchanged, maintaining the deposit facility rate at 2.25%, the main refinancing operations rate at 2.40%, and the marginal lending facility rate at 2.65%, in line with market expectations.

4. [European Auto Market] Data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) shows that passenger car sales in the EU market rose by 13.6% year-on-year in June 2026, reaching 1.15 million units, compared to 1.01 million units during the same period last year.

Chemicals

1. [Fluorite] The 100,000-ton/year mining and processing expansion/renovation project at the Heishatu mine—operated by Damao Banner Bingjing methodology Fluorspar research Co., Ltd. in Baotou, Inner Mongolia—has officially received approval to construction land consumption from the Autonomous Region People's Government.

2. [Caustic Soda] Last week (July 17-23, 2026), the average capacity utilization rate among sampled Chinese caustic soda companies (with capacities of 100,000 tons or greater) stood at 78.2%, up 0.4% week-on-week.

3. [Soda Ash] During the week of July 23, the operating rate of soda ash vegetation was 79.95%, an increase of 1.22% compared to the week before last; soda ash production totaled 761,500 tons, up 1.55% compared to the week before last.

4. [Soda Ash] As of July 23, domestic soda ash inventories stood at 1.7813 million tonnes, up 1.53% from the week prior; this total comprised 1.0545 million tonnes of light soda ash and 0.7268 million tonnes of dense soda ash. Shipments by Chinese soda ash producers totaled 0.7346 million tonnes—a month-on-month decrease of 1.06%—with a shipment rate of 96.47%.

5. [MDI] Huntsman has decided to raise the prices of all MDI items in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East by €250 per tonne, efficiently August 1, 2026, or as permitted by contract terms.

6. [Potassium Nitrate] On July 24, Shandong Tianyi Chemical Co., Ltd. quoted its agricultural-grade potassium nitrate at 4,070 RMB/ton ex-works, a decrease of 80 RMB/ton from the previous quote.

7. [Acrylic Acid] According to customs data, my country's imports of acrylic acid and its salts (acrylic acid) totaled 207.66 tonnes in June 2026, down 94.68% month-on-month; exports totaled 12,818.75 tonnes, a month-on-month decrease of 2.14%.